Travel tips for Des Moines, IA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Des Moines Wikitravel Website:http://wikitravel.org/en/Des_Moines
Des Moines is the capital of Iowa and located in the center of the state. The airport (Website: http://www.dsmairport.com/ ) has rental car counters for Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. You can also use public transportation from the airport into the city. Bus service is available to and from the airport Monday through Friday from the Des Moines Area Transit Authority (DART). DART (Website: http://www.ridedart.com/ ) serves the Greater Des Moines International Airport by way of Route #8. Here's the Route 8 map: http://www.ridedart.com/maps/8_M.pdf . The fare is $1.75. Des Moines has your typical places to visit from zoos to parks to museums ( Visitor Website: http://www.catchdesmoines.com/ ). Strangely, wineries are big in central Iowa with five different ones in the Des Moines area. The Covered Bridges Winery located southwest of Des Moines (Website: http://coveredbridgeswinery.com/ ) has the Cedar Bridge, which is a semi-dry white blend with peach and apricot overtones. The Dale Valley Vineyard and Winery (Website: http://dalevalleyvineyard.com/ ) is located west of Des Moines. The Recess is a sweet rhubarb wine like my mom's rhubarb cobbler.
Located just minutes from Downtown Des Moines, Jasper Winery (Website: http://jasperwinery.com/ ) is an "estate style" winery facility in the heart of the Metro. Jasper Winery produces high quality wines using grape varieties that thrive in the Midwest. Their Edelweiss is a flirty and lively white, Edelweiss is slightly sweet yet crisp, with refreshing flavors of citrus and green apple. The Summerset Winery is located south of Des Moines (Website: http://www.summersetwine.com/ ). Their Frontenac is a medium bodied dry red with hints of vanilla and oak on the nose and notes of black cherries, currants and spice in the finish. The Tassel Ridge Winery is located an hour southeast of Des Moines. The winery (Website: http://tasselridge.com/ ) has a nice American Chardonnay. If you like whiskey, the Broadbent Distillery is located southwest of downtown Des Moines. They have a corn whiskey (Website: http://twojaysiowa.com/) with a very smooth taste. There are three breweries in the Des Moines area: Confluence Brewing Company (Website: http://confluencebrewing.com/ ) is just northeast of the airport. Their taproom is open Wednesday's through Saturday's. You should try the Capital Gold Lager. Peace Tree Brewery is located southeast of Des Moines in Knoxville. The taproom (Website: http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/ ) is open Wednesday through Sunday. The Blonde Fatale is an unfiltered Belgian Style Blonde Ale. The Twisted Pine Brewery (Website: http://twistedvinebrewery.com/ ) is located in St. Charles, IA just south of Des Moines. The brewery is a small-batch craft brewery nestled within the Madison County Winery. They focus on unique, flavorful beers that are produced with quality ingredients. We liked the Whistling Ogre Wheat. If you like wheat beers, if you like a cloudy pint, then you’ll love this beer. Grainy, mildly hopped, crisp, and finishes with just a hint of citrusy tang in the back. For some fun, check out Blue Moon Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant (Website: http://bluemoonduelingpianobar.com/ ) in west Des Moines. We enjoyed the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company (Website: http://www.courtavebrew.com/ ) in south downtown. This area has many nice places bars and restaurants to visit in addition to the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company (Court Avenue Reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g37835-d578110-Reviews-Court_Avenue-Des_Moines_Iowa.html ). Also, try out Tacoapocalypse (Website: http://tacopocalypse.com/ ) and Zombie Burger (Website: http://www.zombieburgerdm.com ) for great, unique food. Des Moines is a nice place to check out.
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Des Moines Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Des_Moines
Mike Summers - April 2012:
I had a two hour layover in Des Moines. Nice airport with very limited food options. Here's a couple of websites about Des Moines:
http://www.dsmairport.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines_International_Airport
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines,_Iowa
Mike Summers - March 2012:
Des Moines is the capital of Iowa and located in the center of the state. The airport (Website: http://www.dsmairport.com/ ) has rental car counters for Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty. You can also use public transportation from the airport into the city. Bus service is available to and from the airport Monday through Friday from the Des Moines Area Transit Authority (DART). DART (Website: http://www.ridedart.com/ ) serves the Greater Des Moines International Airport by way of Route #8. Here's the Route 8 map: http://www.ridedart.com/maps/8_M.pdf . The fare is $1.75. Des Moines has your typical places to visit from zoos to parks to museums ( Visitor Website: http://www.catchdesmoines.com/ ). Strangely, wineries are big in central Iowa with five different ones in the Des Moines area. The Covered Bridges Winery located southwest of Des Moines (Website: http://coveredbridgeswinery.com/ ) has the Cedar Bridge, which is a semi-dry white blend with peach and apricot overtones. The Dale Valley Vineyard and Winery (Website:
http://dalevalleyvineyard.com/ ) is located west of Des Moines. The Recess is a sweet rhubarb wine like my mom's rhubarb cobbler.
Located just minutes from Downtown Des Moines, Jasper Winery (Website: http://jasperwinery.com/ ) is an "estate style" winery facility in the heart of the Metro. Jasper Winery produces high quality wines using grape varieties that thrive in the Midwest. Their Edelweiss is a flirty and lively white, Edelweiss is slightly sweet yet crisp, with refreshing flavors of citrus and green apple. The Summerset Winery is located south of Des Moines (Website: http://www.summersetwine.com/ ). Their Frontenac is a medium bodied dry red with hints of vanilla and oak on the nose and notes of black cherries, currants and spice in the finish. The Tassel Ridge Winery is located an hour southeast of Des Moines. The winery (Website: http://tasselridge.com/ ) has a nice American Chardonnay. If you like whiskey, the Broadbent Distillery is located southwest of downtown Des Moines. They have a corn whiskey (Website: http://twojaysiowa.com/) with a very smooth taste. There are three breweries in the Des Moines area: Confluence Brewing Company (Website: http://confluencebrewing.com/ ) is just northeast of the airport. Their taproom is open Wednesday's through Saturday's. You should try the Capital Gold Lager. Peace Tree Brewery is located southeast of Des Moines in Knoxville. The taproom (Website: http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/ ) is open Wednesday through Sunday. The Blonde Fatale is an unfiltered Belgian Style Blonde Ale. The Twisted Pine Brewery (Website: http://twistedvinebrewery.com/ ) is located in St. Charles, IA just south of Des Moines. The brewery is a small-batch craft brewery nestled within the Madison County Winery. They focus on unique, flavorful beers that are produced with quality ingredients. We liked the Whistling Ogre Wheat. If you like wheat beers, if you like a cloudy pint, then you’ll love this beer. Grainy, mildly hopped, crisp, and finishes with just a hint of citrusy tang in the back. For some fun, check out Blue Moon Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant (Website: http://bluemoonduelingpianobar.com/ ) in west Des Moines. We enjoyed the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company (Website: http://www.courtavebrew.com/ ) in south downtown. This area has many nice places bars and restaurants to visit in addition to the Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company (Court Avenue Reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g37835-d578110-Reviews-Court_Avenue-Des_Moines_Iowa.html ). Also, try out Tacoapocalypse (Website: http://tacopocalypse.com/ ) and Zombie Burger (Website:
http://www.zombieburgerdm.com ) for great, unique food. Des Moines is a nice place to check out.